Bregman logs his first career four-hit game

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Astros' offense enjoyed its biggest offensive outburst in more than a week, and third baseman Alex Bregman was right in the middle of it.

Bregman delivered his first career four-hit game (4-for-6) in Wednesday's 9-8 loss to the Twins at Target Field, including his first home run of the season. Bregman entered the game in a 3-for-18 slump, but put that behind him with four hits in his first five at-bats.

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Astros' offense enjoyed its biggest offensive outburst in more than a week, and third baseman Alex Bregman was right in the middle of it.

Bregman delivered his first career four-hit game (4-for-6) in Wednesday's 9-8 loss to the Twins at Target Field, including his first home run of the season. Bregman entered the game in a 3-for-18 slump, but put that behind him with four hits in his first five at-bats.

"I felt good really all year, barreling up the baseball," Bregman said. "[In the] first series in Texas, I hit a lot of balls at people and kind of started to chase some hits after that instead of chasing some good pitches to hit, and today I was just looking for some good pitches to hit and was fortunate enough to put some good swings on the ball. Unfortunately, [we] came up short."

Bregman singled in the first and eighth innings, doubled and scored in the fifth and crushed a homer off Twins pitcher Trevor Hildenberger in the sixth that got the Astros within 8-6. Last year, Bregman didn't hit his first homer until May 14.

"I thought it was going to be another 'wait-'til-May' kind of thing," he said. "It's good to get that one out of the way."

Bregman singled to lead off the eighth but lined out to left field to end the ninth inning, denying him his first five-hit game.

"I thought he was closing in on five hits, which was a topic in the dugout brought up by our second baseman," said Astros manager AJ Hinch said, referring to three-time batting champ Jose Altuve, who's never had a five-hit game. "Great night, and we need him to break out. He's a really talented hitter. We're going to see that out of some guys. He barreled up the last ball when we were 8-8."

Bregman focused in the spring on improving his pitch selection, and he entered Wednesday's game second in the American League with 10 walks. Now that the hits are falling, he could be poised to take off with the bat.

"I kind of thought to myself [that] I need to swing at pitches over the middle more and stop chasing off the plate," he said.